Forced Upgrade, Hidden Obstacles
One of the UK’s leading biscuit manufacturers had relied on standard SAP SCM 5.1 for their APO system across manufacturing sites in England, Scotland, and Wales.
When SAP withdrew support for the older SCM version, upgrade became mandatory. The brief was straightforward: upgrade Development, Quality, then Production systems. Migrate SCM from Windows 2008 to 2012 simultaneously.
What could be simpler than following the standard upgrade path?
Showstopper One: Compatibility Crisis
The first obstacle emerged immediately. The client’s old SCM 5.1 wouldn’t run on Windows 2012. The conventional solution was applying several years’ worth of support packages before migrating.
This would add massive work to the project. Worse, it would leave the client without a fallback system if something went wrong with the new system. An unconscionable risk.
The Pivot consultant decided on an alternative solution from years of SAP experience and knowledge. He executed the plan successfully, saving significant extra work while ensuring the original APO system remained as fallback.
Risk reduced. Project protected.
With SCM 5.1 migration to Windows 2012 completed, the next crisis emerged. To carry out the upgrade, SCM 5.1 needed to connect to LiveCache.
But LiveCache was running on Windows 2008. The systems couldn’t connect. Incompatible operating systems blocked the upgrade.
Again, the consultant’s expertise and experience solved what seemed like an insurmountable technical problem. The connection issue was resolved through unconventional approaches.
Before go-live, during final testing, the most serious crisis emerged. Using data copied from the production system, the SNP optimizer underestimated demand compared with the existing system.
This wasn’t a minor discrepancy. This was a fundamental planning failure that threatened to derail the entire project at the final hurdle.
The issue was referred to Pivot’s supply chain team. They identified problems with the settings and applied the requisite patch. The fixes resolved the demand estimation crisis.
With the critical issue resolved, the client decided to proceed with the upgrade. The project was saved from disaster in the final moments.
Each solution had created the next crisis. Solving the Windows compatibility created the LiveCache connection problem. Solving the connection problem revealed the demand estimation disaster.
The showstopper cascade kept escalating until the final crisis threatened everything just before Go-Live.
The Pivot consultant’s proactive approach and deep SAP knowledge proved essential. Conventional solutions would have added work, increased risk, and failed at critical moments.
Unconventional expertise delivered conventional results. On time, under budget, fully compliant with SAP recommendations, and fully supported.
Pivot delivered expertise that turned sequential crises into sequential solutions.
Sometimes technical upgrades create their own obstacles where every solution reveals new problems. Pivot proved that deep expertise can navigate cascade crises without compromising timelines or budgets.
